A Never Ending Love Story
by E-Lena070
Summary: Lucy lives in a world where mages are being tortured and killed by the humans. In a treachery her parents are murdered and she has to give up her home and flee from their lands. After days of seeking refuge, she finally finds a cave. Moreover a guy with salmon-pink hair in it sleeping on the floor. (Contains NatsuxLucy; Rated M for later chapters) (sorry for my bad english :b)
1. Leaving Home

For generations the Heartphilia family has stewarded the lands of Fiore, earning the loyalty of the people with justice and temperance. When the country was occupied by the empire of Edolas, the men of the Heartphilia family served the embattled kings of their lands. Today Dairren, the eldest son of the teyrn takes up House Heartphilia's banner in service to the Crown – not against the men of Edolas, but against the dark mages rising in the south.

"I trust, then, that your troops will be here shortly?" asks Jude Heartphilia, the head of the family, facing the fireplace in the main hall.

"I expect they will start arriving tonight, and we can march tomorrow. I apologize for the delay, my lord. This is entirely my fault." Hades replies while staring at the back of Jude's brownish leather coat.

"No, no. The appearance of the dark guilds in the south has us all scrambling, doesn't it? I only received the call from the king a few days ago, myself." Now the teyrn turns around to face his ally and old friend. "I'll send my eldest off with my men. You and I will ride tomorrow, just like the old days!"

"True. Though we both had less grey in our hair then. And we fought the men of Edolas, not… monsters." Hades says almost spitting out the word 'monster'. To the world every mage is a monster, a disgusting creature that must be destroyed before it can develop its deadly powers.

Jude nods and laughs. "At least the smell will be the same."

Both men wince as they hear the side door being shut. A young girl at the age of 17 walks in wearing a fine dress out of silk. Her golden shoulder long hair flutters with each step she takes towards the two men in the middle of the hall. With her big brown eyes she carefully looks around as if she needed to be alert.

"I'm sorry, Lucy; I didn't see you there." The head of the Heartphilia family turns to face the girl but looks afterwards back at his friend next to him. "Hades, you remember my daughter?" he asks.

"I see she's become a lovely young woman. Pleased to see you again, my dear." Hades says in reply.

"And you, Arl Hades" Lucy answers as she walks over to stand next to her father.

"My son Roman asked after you" Taking a closer look at the blondie before him, Hades takes a step forward.

Being irritated by his stare Lucy first glances over to her father, hoping he would help her out. It's not like she doesn't like Roman but she never thought of him the way he probably thinks of her. Actually she never thought of anyone being more as a friend to her. Then she realizes her father isn't going to say anything until she gives an answer to Hades.

"But Roman is... a few years younger than I am" is the first and only thing that comes to her mind.

"As you get older, those years make less difference. A lesson often hard won." Says Hades, who obviously expected something other to hear. With an annoyed look on his face he glances over to Jude, waiting for him to say something.

"I doubt she'll be receptive, Hades. My fierce girl has her own mind these days, Maker bless her heart." Lucy notices that her father tries to sound amused but she knows exactly that every time she says something that wouldn't please him, he would beg the Maker for forgiveness or the sort. "At any rate, my dear, I summoned you for a reason. While your brother and I are both away, I'm leaving you in charge of the castle."

Lucy, who's looking ashamed to the ground, raises her head in surprise and glares at her father. "What? Why can't I go into the battle with you and Dairren?" Her brother used to tell her about the glorious battles against mages and dragons and other creatures he fought when she was little. He kept promising her that once she becomes old and strong enough he'll take her with him and she could see a real dragon. All she wants since she was little is to get so close to one that she could even touch it. That is the one thing she was hoping and training for her entire life and now her father won't allow her to join them.

"I'm certain you'd more than prove yourself, but I am not willing to deal with your mother if you join the war." Jude looks with a stern expression on his face but eases when he sees the disappointed and sad look on Lucy's face. Trying to be a bit funny he adds: "She'd kill me if I let you go. She's already twisted into knots about your brother and me going." He smiles gently at his daughter.

"Then let me talk to her. I'll convince her…"

"I doubt that. You know your mother, and she made it clear there is no debate." Jude sighs. "This is no needles task. I ask you to take a great responsibility. Only a token forces is remaining here, and must keep peace in the region. You know what they say about mice when the cat is away, yes?"

Still feeling depressed Lucy nods. "I understand, father. I'll do my best."

"Now that's my girl. In the meantime find your brother and tell him to lead the troops to the Tower of Ishal ahead of me. Be a good lass and do as I've asked. And don't you worry, my dear." He puts a hand on Lucy's right shoulder and smiles at her. "Your brother and I will put an end to these creatures in no time and then hopefully we can live in peace." With that he signals Hades to follow him into the library so they can discuss further plans for the battle.

Lucy watches them leave, then she takes a deep breath and sighs. Every time someone calls the mages creatures, demons, monsters and the sort she becomes upset. Why wouldn't she? No one knows that she herself is a mage as well. No one except for Layla Heartphilia, her mother. She is the one who teaches Lucy everything she knows about celestial spirit magic. Of course they have to do it in secret. As soon as someone finds out, Lucy would be tortured and killed. She doesn't even dare to tell her father about her abilities. She loves him more than anything on this world, but she knows how Jude hates the mages and wants to exterminate them. He doesn't even care whether they are dark mages, who are possessed by the thought of abusing their powers to become even more powerful, or just ordinary mages, who learn all kind of magic to help people.

The blondie crosses the huge hall and exits through the side door she came in. Looking first to her left, she then turns right and walks down the long corridor. Reaching the stairs leading to the upper floors, she hears a familiar voice from her right. As soon as she sees the person talking to her mother, she remembers the woman the voice belongs to. It is Isolde, Hades' wife. Lucy thinks of her as a beautiful and elegant woman. She never once has a fold in her silk dresses and her reddish hair is always made perfectly. Not a single streak is on the wrong place. Also the way she walks, makes every man near her turn around so they can take a closer look at her. Though as beautiful she is on the outside, on the inside she is an arrogant and selfish woman.

"And my dear Hades brought this back from Edolas last year." Isolde says showing Layla her golden necklace with small emerald stones on it. "The marquis who gave it to him was drunk, I understand, and mistook Hades for the king" The woman ads and laughs spiteful.

Layla chuckles and turns as soon as she hears Lucy coming. "Ah, here is my lovely daughter. Darling, you remember Lady Isolde? Hades' wife?"

"I think we last met at your mother's spring salon." says the woman now looking at the bold girl.

"Of course. It's good to see you again, my lady" Lucy answers and bows.

"Yes. You remember my son, Roman?" she gestures towards the boy standing a few steps away from his mother and Lady Layla. "He's not married yet, either."

'Not this again' Lucy thinks and forces a smile on her face and looked at her friend.

"Don't listen to her." says Roman turning towards Lucy lightly blushing. "It's good to see you, my lady. You look beautiful as ever"

"Thank you" Lucy replies and turns her head so no one notices her blushing.

"And this…" Lady Isolde gestures towards a young girl, maybe 13-years-old, with short black hair. "… is my lady-in-waiting, Iona." The girl bows not daring to look at anyone. "Do say something, when I'm being so kind and introduce you to a highborn Lady, foolish girl!"

"I'm sorry, mistress." the girl replies, then raises her head to look at Lucy. "It is a great pleasure, my lady." Lucy smiles pitiful at the girl.

Isolde sighs turning back to Lady Layla. "It's so hard to find a good servant these days. Now, if you will excuse me, I think I shall rest now, my dear. Roman, I will see you and Iona at supper." Isolde says, then turns around walks away slowly.

"Come, Iona. We'll retire to the study for now." says Roman. "Good evening, your Ladyship" He bows and walks off down the stairs, followed by the girl.

"You should say goodbye to your brother while you have the chance" Layla steps closer to her daughter.

"Mother…" Lucy says quieter to make sure no one can hear them. "Why can't I go with Father and Dairren? You know I'm strong! I learnt how to use a sword and I can help them to defeat the dark mages without using my… abilities" the last word she only dares to whisper.

"My dearest, you know, it would be too dangerous for you. A single mistake could be the last thing you'll do." Layla sighs "I know it's difficult to stay in the castle and watch others ride off, but we must see to our duties first. You understand that, don't you? It's in the Maker's hands now, and we must cope as best we can."

Lucy knew from the start that her mother won't let her join the war. "I have a bad feeling about this" she admits quietly.

Laylas expression saddens as she moves forward to hug the girl in front of her tightly. "As do I. Your father and brother are marching off to fight Maker-knows-what. All the assurances in the world don't comfort me. But it wouldn't help for us to take up arms and follow. Your brother and father have their duty and we have ours." she steps back still resting her hands on Lucy's shoulders.

"Are you staying at the castle?" The blondie asks her mother.

"For a few days. Then I'll travel with Lady Isolde to her estate and keep her company for a time. Your father thinks my presence here might undermine your authority."

"I don't think you should go" Lucy says looking with concern in her voice.

"Don't worry. It won't be long." Layla again hugs her. "I love you, my darling girl. You know that, don't you?"

"I love you, too" says Lucy feeling relaxed in her mother's arms.

"Now, go do what you must. I will see you soon." her mother kisses the girl on her forehead and walks down the stairs towards the gardens.

Lucy is disappointed that she isn't able to convince her mother. Now she starts to give up her dreams like seeing a real dragon, fighting against a dark mage, testing her ability as celestial spirit mage! She wants to see what her spirits… her friends are capable of! It's not like she hasn't summoned them and seen their powers before, she just never had the opportunity to watch them in a real fight. And probably she never will…

The blond mage crosses a few other halls, rooms and corridors, before she reaches her brother's study. The door is opened. Her brother is inside talking to Lilyana, his wife and six-year-old son, Oren.

"Is there really gonna be a war, papa? Will you bring me back a sward?" asks little Oren with excitement.

"That's 'sword', Oren." replies Dairren kneeling down so he can look strait at his son. "And I'll get you the mightiest one I can find, I promise. I'll be back before you know it."

Lilyana places her small and soft hand on Dairren's shoulder, while trying to not let the others notice her concern. "I wish victory was indeed so certain. My heart is… disquiet." She says. Dairren and Oren probably doesn't, but Lucy notices Lilyana's shaking hand. 'Poor Lilyana' Lucy thinks to herself. 'I wish I could do something to calm her down'

"Don't frighten the boy, love. I speak the truth" Dairren chuckles looking back at his son. Now standing up he turns towards Lucy. "And here is my little sister to see me off." Dairren waits until Lucy comes close to him so they can hug one other. After a few seconds they let go of each other. "Now dry your eyes, love, and wish me well" Dairren says looking back at his wife.

"Should I wait outside?" asks the blond girl his brother while looking at the poor woman sobbing in front of her.

"Stay. I'd like to say farewell."

"I wish I could go with you" Lucy herself is now doing her best to hold back her tears. Though she wouldn't cry because Dairren is leaving, she would cry because she can't join him…

"I wish you could come! It'll be tiring, killing all those dark mages myself." He laughs. Lucy always loves the way her brother would joke around no matter what the circumstances are. And she loves it too, that Dairren never once called the mages something different than what they are. It's like he secretly knows about her and her spirits and nevertheless he's not condemning her.

"You'll be missed, brother" says Lucy.

Dairren laughs and replies "If it's any consolation, I'm sure I'll freeze in the southern rain and be completely jealous of you up here, warm and safe."

Lucy smiles back at him. "I bring a message: Father wants you to leave without him"

"Then the arl's men are delayed." He sighs. "You'd think his men were all walking backwards. Well, I'd better get underway. So may dark mages behead, so little time! Off we go, then. I'll see you soon, my love." Dairren says to Lilyana then giving her a kiss.

"I would hope, dear boy, that you planned to wait for us before taking your leave?" Jude says from behind as he and Layla walk into the room to say their farewells.

"Be well, my son." Layla walks up to her son and kisses him on his forehead. "I will pray for your safety every day you are gone."

'A good shield would be more useful' thinks Lucy to herself.

"The Maker sustain and preserve us all. Watch over our sons, husbands, and fathers and bring them safely back to us." says Lilyana. She is quite fond of the Maker, too fond of Him for Lucy's taste.

"And bring us some ale and wenches while you're at it!" Dairren laughs but stops as soon as he sees the angry look on his wife's and mother's face. "Err… for the men, for course." He adds and winks towards Lucy. The girl begins to chuckle but stops instantly.

"Dairren! You would say this in front of your mother?" snaps Lilyana and gestures towards Layla who looks annoyed at her son.

"What's a wench?" asks little Oren. "Is that what you pull on to get the bucket out of the well?"

"A wench is a woman that pours the ale in a tavern, Oren" answers Jude looking at his grandson "Or a woman who drinks a lot of ale" he mumbles.

"Jude! Maker's breath, it's like living with a pair of small boys. Thankfully, I have a daughter" says Layla facing her husband.

Dairren chuckles. "I'll miss you, Mother dear. You'll take care of her, Sister, won't you?" He looks at Lucy and laughs.

"Mother can handle herself. Always has" Lucy jests.

"It's true. They should be sending her, not me. She would scold those dark mages back to where they came from."

"Anyhow." says Lucy still laughing "It's getting late. Now if you ill excuse me I'll go to sleep. I have much to do tomorrow." Lucy bows and takes her leave. 'I'm not sure why but I have a really bad feeling about all this…' Lucy sighs while walking towards her room.

'What is it now?' Lucy thinks after she has been woken up by screams and shouts from the outside of her room. Climbing out of her bed she puts on her dressing gown and walks over to her window. To her surprise it's still dark and strangely foggy outside. As she hears the screams and shouts continue she becomes more and more alert. Quickly she puts on her leather slacks and shoes and her chainmail, then grabs a dagger and her celestial spirit keys and slowly opens the door to the corridor. There's nothing going on outside so carefully she opens the door a bit more, ensuring she doesn't make any loud noises. As she steps outside Lucy looks around the corridor just in case she overlooked something before. Quickly she rushes down the corridor to the room of her parents. However the beds are empty. 'Mother and Father, where could they be?' Lucy turns around just in time to dodge the huge blade smashing down upon her. She has barely time to look at her attacker as the next strike follows while she's kneeling on the floor. A man at least one foot higher than herself stands in front of her wearing an armour covered in blood. Quickly Lucy draws her dagger and avoids to be hit on her head. As soon as the soldier draws back his sword to prepare for his next attack, Lucy slams her dagger into his right thigh. The man drops his long sword while crying out with a deep rasping voice. He then quickly reaches out for his sword again, but Lucy is faster. She jumps to her feet and with the handle of her dagger she hits the man in the head, knocking him out. The soldier falls with his face first to the ground and remains unconscious. Carefully Lucy takes a step forward to take a closer look at him. "No way." the girl gasps "This can't be true" she whispers. Not being able to look away, she just keeps staring at the man, hoping the symbol on his back will change. A red in half parted heart with thorns and some kind of line, which reminded Lucy of a flower, was clearly to be seen on the back of the armour. The symbol that is only to be seen on the armours of Hades' men. "Traitor" Lucy whispers. "Traitor!" She can't hold back the tears, she just lets them roll down her cheeks. As fast as she can, the blondie rushes out of her parent's room and down the corridor, passing a room where the door was left opened. She then freezes when she remembers the people the room belongs to. Lilyana and Oren. Her body is shacking, her vision is blurred and she might be imagining things but she is quite sure, she saw two persons lying on the floor covered with blood. The blond haired mage walks back to the room where the door was left opened and enters. "No!" she cries out and rushes over to the woman lying in the middle of the room. "Lilyana. Lilyana!" Lucy shouts and falls to her knees next to her sister-in-law. With a shaking hand the blond girl reaches out to touch the woman's cheek. "Why are they doing this? What's going on?!" she whispers while looking to the little boy lying dead on the bed. Lucy quickly stops crying as a thought strikes her. She turns her head to look out the open door as if someone is watching her. No one is there. "Mother. Father" she barely says. She quickly jumps to her feet and runs down the stairs, at the end of the corridor.

"There she is!" A man in a uniform with the symbol of Hades' house shouts from behind. Two other men join him as they start to chase after her. Lucy just crosses one hall after another, hoping she will get rid of her followers. Then she suddenly stops as she sees them. Her mother already dead on the floor lying in a puddle of her own blood and her father sitting next to her, looking up at a tall armoured man standing in front him. Before Lucy could have done anything, the soldier stabs through her father's heart. "No! Fathe-"

Suddenly someone takes hold of her and places a hand tight on her mouth. Lucy tries to hit and kick and bite her attacker but it's no use. She is being dragged inside the kitchen behind them. As soon as the door is shut, the grip around Lucy's hand loosens. "My lady, please, you need to calm down and stay quiet, otherwise they'll find us!" says a soft voice of a man. To signal the man, she understands the situation, Lucy nods. He then lets go of her hand and mouth and the girl turns around quickly, so she can take a look at the person next to her. Surprisingly Lucy doesn't remember she has ever met the man before.

"Who are you? And why did you bring me here? I could've saved my father!" Lucy knows it's not true what she said, she just doesn't want to admit it.

"I'm no one of importance, my lady. I served here at the castle and was mostly positioned in the kitchen. My lady, your mother and father are dead. Hades betrayed them while he had the chance. Now that your troops marched along with your brother to the south, you are assailable and hardly a danger to him."

"But why did he betray us? My father? His old friend?" A few tears escaped Lucy's eyes again and rolled down her cheeks.

"That I don't know, my lady. And now is not the time to find out. Please, come with me." Not waiting for an answer he grabs Lucy's hand again and leads her to the storeroom, where he shoves a few crates to the side. Lucy just stands there not knowing what he is up to until she sees a small hidden well. "Here" the man says and gestures towards the hole. "This well leads to an underground tunnel. You climb down there and follow the tunnel. When you reach a crossroad turn left and follow the path until you reach the end of the tunnel. It leads into a forest a few miles away from the castle. Now hurry before they find you!" He whispers afraid that they might be heard.

"I can't just leave! What about my people? My home?" Lucy says. She doesn't know what she could do, now that her family has been murdered.

"Everyone has already been slaughtered down, or if not they are being slaughtered down right now. There's nothing you can do! Please, my lady hurry"

'I don't wanna admit it but he's probably right. If I die here as well then who will take vengeance for our people and family and home?' Lucy thought wiping her tears from her eyes. "What about you? Aren't you coming?" she asked.

"No. I'm staying. I need to help those who still live and have a chance to escape. I wish you good luck, my lady, and farewell" With that he turns around and leaves. Lucy then climbs down into the deep and dark tunnel and starts walking down the path she was told to choose. The further she walks the quieter the shouts and screams become. After a few minutes she hears nothing except for her own steps and the sobs that escape her.


	2. The Boy In The Cave

According to Lucy, she must've been walking at least two hours when she finally reaches the end of the dark narrow tunnel. The forest isn't any brighter than the tunnel was, though the moonlight shines bright enough for Lucy to avoid running into a tree. The blond girl doesn't know which direction she's running, all she wants is to get away from the enemy, the castle, her dead family. The sobbing stopped a while ago, the tears however still keep running down her cheeks. 'Why did all this happen?' Lucy thinks as she keeps running up the hill. Thankfully she had her leather boots put on, though the chainmail makes every movement even harder as it already is.

Suddenly she stumbles over the roots of a big tree and falls hard to the ground. Lying there Lucy starts sobbing again, but stops as she feels her left tight ache. Slowly the blond mage raises to lean against the trunk of a tree and reaches down to see, whether she can feel anything that causes the pain. As she carefully places her palm on top of her tight, a warm and very dark liquid streams down her hand, over her fingers and drips to the ground. Lucy raises her hand to take a closer look at the liquid on her hand and stares at it in confusion. 'I'm bleeding, but how?' she thinks to herself, trying to remember how she got the wound. 'It must've been that bastard in my parent's bedroom.' As sorrow and sadness fade, anger starts to fill in their places. 'They won't get away with this' Lucy thinks and continues walking up the hill.

It's still dark but the trees have become less. Totally exhausted Lucy now walks along a cliff she has spotted a while ago. Not thinking of anything and not even looking where she's heading to, the blond mage just keeps walking hoping she would find a place she could rest for a while. Right when she thinks she can't continue, the young mage discovers a fade flickering light in the distance, though she's not quite sure what the source of that light might be. Hesitating whether she should check out the place or just turn and walk off into the other direction, she decides to go and see where the light is coming from.

Step by step the blondie approaches the flickering light, not taking her eyes off of it. The nearer she gets the clearer she sees the fireplace in a small cave. Before she could think of what her next step should be, her body moves on its own. Now Lucy stands in front of the small alluring fireplace and reaches out with both of her hands enjoying the welcoming warmth and light of the fire. Slowly she kneels down, her expression with both relieve and pain. As the blond mage starts to relax, she suddenly jolts as she sees a black mound moving. Lucy quickly turns her head staring at a … guy! And he's asleep! 'How could I've not seen him? Just how stupid can I be for not checking first!?' Lucy asks herself angrily feeling her heart pounding in her chest. Carefully, not to make any noise, the blondie stands up, ignoring the great pain in her left tight. 'Please, don't wake up' she thinks not taking her eyes off the guy close to her. Again before she knew her body moves on its own. 'What am I doing? Why can't I just leave and get away from this place as soon as possible?' she screams in her mind. Instead of leaving however the blond mage now kneels down in front of him examining his lineaments. 'He's quite good looking…'

His face is completely relaxed, with his lips slightly parted. His salmon-pink hair is one big mess. Slowly Lucy reaches out with one hand to feel his hair between her fingers, but stops in her movement. 'What am I doing?' she shakes her head to clear it from unwelcoming ideas. Quickly she glances to his eyes to make sure he hasn't woken up. As the blond girl keeps staring at the one sleeping in front of her, a feeling, that she cannot identify gets a hold of her. "Just who are you?" Lucy whispers barely to be heard. Suddenly the eyes of the salmon-pink haired guy open and keep staring into Lucy's brownish ones. His relaxed expression changes in an instant. With one rapid move he jumps towards Lucy, pinning her beneath him and holding her hands in place.

"Who are you?" he growls not taking his eyes off the girl. Lucy moans through gritted teeth and shuts her eyes tightly as the pain in her tight starts to spread through her entire body. Still looking at the girl beneath him, the boy's expression turns from wary to confused, as the smell of blood fills his nose. Now his gaze wanders from the blond girl's eyes to her tight, where the smell comes from. "You're bleeding" the salmon-pink haired boy says surprised. Again Lucy moans and opens her eyes. Her vision gets blurry as the pain's getting worse. Her wound must've torn further, when he jumped at her. The blondie now tries to focus, but it's no use. The blackness keeps surrounding her more and more, pulling her into the darkness.

"Hey. Hey, you!" the salmon-haired boy calls, looking at the unconscious girl beneath him. With a sigh he pulls her into his arms while getting up. He quickly looks at the cave's entrance, just to make sure no one else is out there. It's still dark outside, though he never had a problem seeing in the darkness. The boy then carries the young blondie further into the cave and places her on the smooth ground. Examining the wound, he then rips off a streak of her slacks with one swift move and ties it tightly around her tight, stopping the bleeding. As Lucy moans but remains unconscious, the boy's eyes wanders to her face. Tilting his head to one side, he then reaches out with one hand sweeping a golden strand out of the blondie's face. With his thumb the boy strokes her pale cheek as he breathes out. Slowly he draws back his hand and gets up to sit on the other side of the cave, leaning against the cold wall. With his arms crossed in front of his chest, the boy sits there watching her. Soon half an hour has passed when tiredness shuts his eyes and drags him into a deep sleep.

"Wake up…" Lucy whispers, as she gently places her small hand on the salmon-pink haired guy's muscular arm. Rolling from one side to the other, he mumbles something that makes no sense to Lucy. "Come on, wake up" The blond mage says squeezing his arm. With a sudden jolt and gasp he then sits up, looking a bit confused. After wiping off the sweat from his forehead he glances over to the girl next to him. "You had a nightmare, so I thought it'd be best to wake you" Lucy answers apologetically. He only nods and turns his head to the entrance of the cave. It's bright out there. The blondie then walks over to the entrance to take a closer look at their surroundings as she had no chance to do so the night before.

"You…" the boy says causing her to look back at him. "You haven't answered my question yet." He continues watching her closely. First her expression shows confusion but changes as she seems to realize what he means.

"My name's Lucy" she simply answers, hoping that would be enough.

"Natsu" the salmon-pink haired guy says, answering Lucy's unasked question. "How did you get that wound?" he asks looking at her tight.

The girl follows his gaze, thinking about what might be the best to answer, however she then turns her head, looking out the entrance again, as no answer comes to her mind, that wouldn't give away too much of what has happened to her. Still watching her closely, Natsu gets up and walks over to her. With one hand he reaches down to her tight.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Lucy snaps at him, looking shocked into his dark eyes and backs away a few steps.

Tilting his head in confusion, the boy stares at her "You're wound has to be treated, otherwise you'll get ill." He answers annoyed by her reaction. Weren't his intentions obvious? "What's your problem?"

"You could've said something…" she growls silently knowing her cheeks are slightly blushing.

"Sit down" Natsu orders not looking at her. She does as she's told not taking her eyes off of his. Carefully the boy removes the tentative bandage and takes a close look at the wound. It's gotten better over the night nevertheless he ties the cloth around Lucy's tight again. "Thank you" she whispers looking at the boy's face. With a surprised expression Natsu raises his head staring into her big brownish eyes. Quickly he looks aside hoping Lucy wouldn't notice his blushing. "Your welcome" He mutters getting up to grab a single scarf that Lucy hasn't noticed until now.

"Where are you going?" she asks curiously.

"Don't know… Maybe South." He answers looking back at her. "You?"

"I'm not sure yet." The blondie replies. "I need to find… something" she quickly adds so he doesn't ask questions. 'Though I don't know what that 'something' is supposed to be…'

"Well, in that case, good luck in 'finding something'" Natsu grins at her causing Lucy to blush even more. With that he exits the cave and walks off into the woods.

It's earlier in the morning than Lucy thought at first. The sun is up for at least an hour, still there are hardly any people on the streets. The small village is half a day marsh to the south from the Heartphilia castle, however she only needed an hour to get there. It seems like the blondie had run the day before even more than she thought that could've been possible. The last time Lucy was in the village, she visited an old man in his store with her parents. She didn't really like him. She didn't trust him, although he was supposed to be an old friend of her fathers. 'Hades was supposed to be a friend of ours too' Lucy thinks trying to restrain the anger rising inside of her. 'Still I have no choice. I need help and he's the only one in the area I know.'

Uncertain about her decision she quietly knocks on the brownish wooden door to the timeworn store she remembers. A few seconds after an old man appears in the window tugging the curtain to one side and staring with an annoyed expression on his face at the girl outside. Then he unlocks the door and opens it slightly, enough for him to peak outside. "The store is closed" he growls.

"I'm truly sorry to disturb you, sir" Lucy quickly calls, before the man could shut the door again. "Actually I hoped I could talk to you?"

A few seconds pass when the man reluctantly opens the door, signalling the girl to step inside. She gladly does so, though the disgusting smell in there is about to change her mind. The place looks rundown. The wooden floor is covered with glass fragments and mildew, and the walls are rotting as well. The little furniture the store is furnished with are about to break apart and the dirty cloths hanging in front of the window darken the place, causing an unwelcoming atmosphere. The store looks worse than Lucy has in mind, though she tries not to show her disgust.

"What is it you want?" The old man asks. The annoyance in his expression hasn't faded a bit. "I don't want you any longer here than needed"

The blondie, now feeling uncomfortable, gathers her thoughts while taking a deep breath, which turns out to be a mistake. A sickening savour starts to spread throughout her nose and mouth leaving her coughing hard.

"If you're sick, you better leave now. I don't want any trouble here." With one hand covering his mouth, the old man says.

"I'm not sick" Lucy rasps. "I have a favour to ask. I need a cloak" she adds, hoping a cloak is not too much for this old geezer to ask. The first thing she needs is a disguise. She can't risk for someone to recognize her. Thinking about her request for a few seconds, the man then replies while gazing at her impudently.

"That's a nice chainmail you have there"

"If you want it, you give me a cloak, a bag and some fresh water in a bottle" Lucy answers, knowing she can trade much more than a cloak for her chainmail. The old man growls but nods in agreement "You're quite insolent, aren't you?" he grumbles as he makes his way over to a messy wardrobe. From there he takes out a brown cloak and a leather bag.

"You can take off your chainmail in there" he gestures with one hand towards a small chamber, after giving the girl the things she asked for. "I'll get the water"

The chamber doesn't look any better than the other room. Lucy looks around her, hoping she can find a rather neat place for her newly received stuff to put down, but with no success. She quickly takes off her chainmail and examines the cloak. It is in quite a good shape, much to Lucy's surprise, the smell however is still awful. 'I need to wash this somewhere as soon as possible' she thinks as she puts it on. The leather bag is pretty shabby but better than nothing. With the chainmail in her hand and the bag on her side she returns to the room. The old man walks towards her with a bottle of water in one hand and reaches out with the other. Lucy then places the chainmail on his stretched out arm, surprised, that the old geezer is strong enough to hold it with only one hand. She knows she herself isn't really strong and needs both her hands to hold it, but this man in front of her looks so weak and frail.

Just as Lucy takes the bottle from the old man and stows it in her pouch, a loud and heavy knock makes her jerk. Quickly she glances up from her bag to the old man who still hasn't moved an inch. Instead a sneer appears on his face, exposing few decayed teeth. Sudden fear and panic gets hold of the young girl and hastily she looks around to search for another exit. In that moment the door flies open and crashes with a loud noise against the wall. Around ten soldiers storm into the room and surround Lucy with their longswords directed at her. "Well done, sir. Here's the reward, as promised" A man, probably the commander, enters the room and throws a small pouch of gold towards the old man, who catches it with ease and nods satisfied.

"I admit I didn't think it would be that easy to find you. Actually I hoped it'd me a bit more challenging, but what can I say, I do my job very fast and well." The commander laughs while walking over to Lucy. He stops right in front of her and gazes down upon her. "Hmmm… You have quite a beautiful face. What a waste" he reaches up with one gloved hand and strokes the girl's cheek. Disgusted by this gesture Lucy slaps away his hand, causing the man in front of her to laugh. The commander then raises his hand again and slaps her hard across her face. Lucy's head flies to one side, but soon she's forced to look at the commander again, as he grabs her by her throat with one hand and by her hair with the other. With one fast move he pulls her close to his face.

"You little slut will die shortly and if I were you, I wouldn't do anything stupid that would displease my executor. Pray that I have mercy on you and kill you quickly." The commander whispers. Feeling his breath upon her cheek Lucy tries to get out of his hold and bring some distance between the two of them. Her desperate wriggle only causes the man to tighten his grip around her throat and to tear her hair downwards. The girl lets out a scream as her head flies back. With her head held in position, Lucy is forced to look at the ceiling while her vision starts to get blurry as she has a hard time to breath.

"Maybe I wasn't clear enough" the commander whispers. "How about you show me what's hidden under that cloak of yours?" With that said he releases her hair, but still holding her throat with one hand, and undoes her cloak, letting it fall to the ground. Quickly he grabs her shirt by the hem and tugs it upwards. Lucy tries to fight him with all her might, although she knows, he's much stronger than she is. Tears start to roll down her cheeks while her screams become more and more desperate.

"Hey!"

Everyone in the room turns to look at the entrance. "Leave her be!" A guy with salmon-pink hair and a strange scarf wrapped around his neck stands there with fury in his eyes.

"Natsu" Lucy barely whispers.

"Take care of him" the commander orders obviously not impressed. While all the soldiers storm towards Natsu, the commander turns back to continue what he was doing before that guy interrupted him. Though barely ten seconds later he is hit on the back of his head, causing him to cry out in pain. "I said: Take your filthy hands off her!" Furiously the commander turns around to face the salmon-pink haired guy. Taken aback by the sight of all his soldiers lying knocked out on the ground, Natsu lands another hit in his face.

"Why you…" The commander wipes away the blood at the corner of his mouth and lets go of Lucys throat, causing her to fall hard to the ground. While trying to soothe her coughing she glances up at the two man standing in front of her. With one swift move the commander swings his sword, aiming for the guy's head. Natsu ducks just in time to avoid his attack, and dashes forward hitting the man in the stomach. Despite the pain spreading out in his abdomen, he manages to spin around and wound the boy at his upper arm. Natsu swings his fist landing another punch in the commander's face causing him to fly across the room and knocking him out at last.

Amazed by his great speed and fighting skills, Lucy just keeps starring at the salmon-pink haired guy, not moving an inch. "Are you alright?" Natsu turns to look at the blondie still on the floor, making her snap out of her daze.

"Yeah…" Lucy forces her head down so she doesn't keep starring at him, but raises it again when a hand reaches down to help. She gladly takes it, while blushing slightly and standing up, giving her best to ignore the pain spreading from her thigh again.

"Let's see if there's anything we could use and get out of here" Natsu says, quickly searching through the rooms. Looking around the place, Lucy notice the old man must've left with his reward, making sure the soldiers couldn't change their minds and take it back from him. She then gathers her cloak and bag from the ground and grabs her chainmail the old man left behind. She quickly gets dressed and puts on the hood of her cloak just when Natsu gets back with another bag on his back and grabs Lucys hand again, pulling her outside. Without letting go of the girl's hand Natsu makes his way through the now busy street. Though she's hardly ever been in the village, Lucy still pulls her hood even further into her face, afraid someone could recognize her.

Suddenly both freeze on spot as they see a bunch of armed men a few meters ahead of them shouting orders to soldiers to keep searching through every house and store in the village.

"You there!" One of the men calls, grabbing a rather young boy at his arm. "We're looking for a girl. Blond, shoulder-long hair, big brown eyes, your age. Guys like you would probably find her quite pretty. Have you seen her?" The boy only shakes his head and runs away as soon as the man lets go of his arm. "Useless brat" He scoffs while looking at the people around him and then makes his way through the crowd.

"This way!" Lucy barely says while she quickly pushes Natsu into one of the narrow alleys. Walking slowly in their direction, the armed man scans his surroundings with his eyes. As he walks past the back alley, Lucy quickly turns around to hide her face only to bump into the behind her standing Natsu. She didn't realize how close he's standing. For a few seconds the two of them just stand still with only a few inches away from each other and stare into each other's eyes. As she feels the blood rush to her cheeks, Lucy turns her head to her side, murmuring a "Sorry".

Natsu too notices himself blushing though he just can't bring himself to look away. Her shoulder-long blond hair seem to glisten under that creasy brown hood and her big brown eyes are kind of hypnotizing as well, not to mention her gorgeous body right in front of him. Slowly he raises one hand but stops in the movement. 'Snap out of it!' Natsu screams in his mind 'This is really not the right time for… What was I even about to do?' he thinks. Though right now her really wants to punch himself, instead he coughs and just says "I think he's gone. We should leave this village as soon as possible."

Lucy raises her head in surprise. For a second she actually forgot where she was and what she was doing there… How was that even possible? She then only nods and peeks out at the corner of the house to check whether there are any soldiers on the street. Then she nods again, signalling Natsu to follow her. The two of them move out of the alley and start walking down the busy street, blending into the crowd. Sudden shouts of soldiers behind them makes Lucy startle. "Hey, over here! I found the commander and rest of his sergeants!" They shout, making the rest of the soldiers run towards them, passing Natsu and Lucy without even once looking at them. Just as Lucy is about to turn around to make sure she's not imagining things, Natsu grabs her by her shoulders "Don't turn around. Just keep walking" he whispers into her ears.

Soon they reach the end of the street that leads out of the village and follow the road into a nearby forest.


End file.
